This is so gorgeous with black truffles, stones and subtle blackberries. Black mushrooms, too. Full-bodied, so dense and deep with very silky tannins and an endless finish. The density of fruit is superb. Truly irresistible. Drink in 2022 but already wonderful to drink. Feb 2017, www.jamessuckling.com

Score: 97-/100James Suckling

One of the unquestioned stars of the vintage, the 2014 Vieux Château Certan soars out of the glass with aromatic intensity, bright acids and finely sculpted fruit. Cool, intense but very much reserved in the style of the year, the 2014 exudes class. The flavors are intense and vibrant throughout. Dark red and purplish-hued stone fruit, lavender, mint and spice lead into the striking finish. The 2014 is just as impressive today as it was from barrel. As always, Vieux Certan has the rare ability to confer power without excess weight. The 2014 is a magical bottle. Readers who can find it should not hesitate. The blend is back to classic proportions of 80 % Merlot and 20 % Cabernet Franc. Feb 2017, www.vinous.com, Drink: 2024-2054

Score: 97-/100Antonio GalloniDrinking Window: 2024-2054

The 2014 Vieux Chateau Certan is a blend of 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked in three stages: 19-20 September, 29 September to 2 October, and 7 and 8 October. The yields came in at 38.7 hectoliters per hectare with 13.4% alcohol. It was one of my stars of the vintage and now in bottle, I find no reason to change that. It is endowed with an exquisite bouquet, really one of the best I encountered throughout my tastings: perfumed blackberry, wild strawberry, cold stone and wilted rose petals. Like in barrel, it is not powerful, yet it is blessed with wondrous precision. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity and fine tannin, a slightly masculine VCC due to its linearity and precision. There is tension here from start to finish, a sophisticated and cerebral Pomerol that transcends the growing season. It is a totally different kettle of fish to the 2015 (and doubtless the pre-natal 2016). This is unashamedly classic in style, fanning out towards the mineral-rich finish with great frisson and energy. A cellar without the 2014 Vieux-Chateau-Certan would be a great pity. Mar 2017, www.robertparker.com

Score: 96-/100Neal Martin

Reserved in terms of aroma, but shows beautiful mouthfeel and depth, with pure cassis, blueberry and plum fruit that glides along, laced with a lively tobacco leaf note and backed by a sanguine twinge. Ample singed vanilla and alder accents chime in as well, but they stay in the background while the fruit plays out. Tasted non-blind.—J.M. Wine Spectator, April 2015.

Score: 94-97/100Wine Spectator

About The Producer

The producer

Vieux Chateau Certan

The original Château at Vieux Château Certan dates back to around 1770 but the modern history of the estate begins in 1924 - the year that Belgian wine merchant Georges Thienpont purchased the property. The current guardian of this hallowed piece of Pomerol ground is Alexandre Thienpont, Georges' grandson, who took over from his dying father in 1985 and has been joined by his son, Guillaume. Unlike the wine's flamboyant baby pink capsule - a legacy from the 1920s - the father-son duo is much more restrained, allowing the wines to do the talking for them.

The 2018 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign reached new heights this week with the surprise release of one of Saint-Emilion’s top estates - Chateau Angelus. As well as offering a pleasing reduction in price versus their last two vintages, this welcome surprise set the tone for potentially one of the most exciting En Primeur campaigns ever. Last week our first releases ...

The Rauzan Segla 2018 has been met with rave reviews. At what point did you feel you had made a special wine? It is a long process in a technician's mind as the picture of the vintage is getting clearer and clearer from the picking to the “dégustations d’assemblage” (blending tastings). Each vintage gives me a particular emotion, the ...

Me: “Paul, are you sure that sample is Merlot, it tastes a lot like Cabernet?” Paul Pontallier: “Yes absolutely it’s a Merlot, amazing eh?” Me: “Paul, are you really sure this isn’t a Cabernet?” Paul Pontallier: “Hmmm, no, not any more. Let me check…” It had started as a simple question in late Nov 2011 when I was at Ch ...

Blending is an art form and remains rarely understood amongst us normal wine enthusiasts. The more one thinks about the process and the many variables the more difficult it seems to contemplate. The choices seem endless and the more one tastes the more confusing it seems to get! How can you tell that a certain combination is better than another? ...

We report from a visit by Pomerol Séduction, an organisation promoting eight top wines from the iconic Right Bank appellation in Bordeaux. On the tasting table were Bordeaux 2012s and 2015s - two very different vintages that both have stories to tell. As the scramble for this year’s En Primeur offerings from Bordeaux reached its climax last week, the FINE+RARE Team saw ...

ON June 28, 2016

Product Details

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Sub-region

Pomerol

Colour

Red

Taste

Dry

Alcohol %

14%

Product Type

Still wine

Product Subtype

-

Drinking Window

2024-2054

Country

France

Region

Bordeaux

Sub-region

Pomerol

Colour

Red

Taste

Dry

Alcohol %

14%

Product Type

Still wine

Product Subtype

-

Drinking Window

2024-2054

Average Score

96

Drinking window

2024-2054

Critic Notes

This is so gorgeous with black truffles, stones and subtle blackberries. Black mushrooms, too. Full-bodied, so dense and deep with very silky tannins and an endless finish. The density of fruit is superb. Truly irresistible. Drink in 2022 but already wonderful to drink. Feb 2017, www.jamessuckling.com

Score: 97-/100James Suckling

One of the unquestioned stars of the vintage, the 2014 Vieux Château Certan soars out of the glass with aromatic intensity, bright acids and finely sculpted fruit. Cool, intense but very much reserved in the style of the year, the 2014 exudes class. The flavors are intense and vibrant throughout. Dark red and purplish-hued stone fruit, lavender, mint and spice lead into the striking finish. The 2014 is just as impressive today as it was from barrel. As always, Vieux Certan has the rare ability to confer power without excess weight. The 2014 is a magical bottle. Readers who can find it should not hesitate. The blend is back to classic proportions of 80 % Merlot and 20 % Cabernet Franc. Feb 2017, www.vinous.com, Drink: 2024-2054

Score: 97-/100Antonio GalloniDrinking Window: 2024-2054

The 2014 Vieux Chateau Certan is a blend of 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked in three stages: 19-20 September, 29 September to 2 October, and 7 and 8 October. The yields came in at 38.7 hectoliters per hectare with 13.4% alcohol. It was one of my stars of the vintage and now in bottle, I find no reason to change that. It is endowed with an exquisite bouquet, really one of the best I encountered throughout my tastings: perfumed blackberry, wild strawberry, cold stone and wilted rose petals. Like in barrel, it is not powerful, yet it is blessed with wondrous precision. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity and fine tannin, a slightly masculine VCC due to its linearity and precision. There is tension here from start to finish, a sophisticated and cerebral Pomerol that transcends the growing season. It is a totally different kettle of fish to the 2015 (and doubtless the pre-natal 2016). This is unashamedly classic in style, fanning out towards the mineral-rich finish with great frisson and energy. A cellar without the 2014 Vieux-Chateau-Certan would be a great pity. Mar 2017, www.robertparker.com

Score: 96-/100Neal Martin

Reserved in terms of aroma, but shows beautiful mouthfeel and depth, with pure cassis, blueberry and plum fruit that glides along, laced with a lively tobacco leaf note and backed by a sanguine twinge. Ample singed vanilla and alder accents chime in as well, but they stay in the background while the fruit plays out. Tasted non-blind.—J.M. Wine Spectator, April 2015.

Score: 94-97/100Wine Spectator

The producer

Vieux Chateau Certan

The original Château at Vieux Château Certan dates back to around 1770 but the modern history of the estate begins in 1924 - the year that Belgian wine merchant Georges Thienpont purchased the property. The current guardian of this hallowed piece of Pomerol ground is Alexandre Thienpont, Georges' grandson, who took over from his dying father in 1985 and has been joined by his son, Guillaume. Unlike the wine's flamboyant baby pink capsule - a legacy from the 1920s - the father-son duo is much more restrained, allowing the wines to do the talking for them.

The 2018 Bordeaux En Primeur campaign reached new heights this week with the surprise release of one of Saint-Emilion’s top estates - Chateau Angelus. As well as offering a pleasing reduction in price versus their last two vintages, this welcome surprise set the tone for potentially one of the most exciting En Primeur campaigns ever. Last week our first releases ...

The Rauzan Segla 2018 has been met with rave reviews. At what point did you feel you had made a special wine? It is a long process in a technician's mind as the picture of the vintage is getting clearer and clearer from the picking to the “dégustations d’assemblage” (blending tastings). Each vintage gives me a particular emotion, the ...

Me: “Paul, are you sure that sample is Merlot, it tastes a lot like Cabernet?” Paul Pontallier: “Yes absolutely it’s a Merlot, amazing eh?” Me: “Paul, are you really sure this isn’t a Cabernet?” Paul Pontallier: “Hmmm, no, not any more. Let me check…” It had started as a simple question in late Nov 2011 when I was at Ch ...

Blending is an art form and remains rarely understood amongst us normal wine enthusiasts. The more one thinks about the process and the many variables the more difficult it seems to contemplate. The choices seem endless and the more one tastes the more confusing it seems to get! How can you tell that a certain combination is better than another? ...

We report from a visit by Pomerol Séduction, an organisation promoting eight top wines from the iconic Right Bank appellation in Bordeaux. On the tasting table were Bordeaux 2012s and 2015s - two very different vintages that both have stories to tell. As the scramble for this year’s En Primeur offerings from Bordeaux reached its climax last week, the FINE+RARE Team saw ...

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